Huge Alterations
by heinrich
Summary: A series of unfortunate events ensued after her father died. Can she rely on Hogwarts to be her haven? Can she rely on her cousin, Remus? Can she rely on herself when she has a malfoy's blood coursing through her veins? Not exactly AU. Marauders’ time.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Note: This story does not contain Sirusoc/Remusoc/Peteroc.

A new character's life is highlighted in this story.

I somehow made some original characters involved to make the story interesting.

I don't think the plot is exactly AU. I have sort of filled events in the life of, more specifically, Remus Lupin.

Remus Lupin had never expected that the sadness and depression he would be facing would be this extreme. His mother had owled him that morning imploring him to visit for a moment to comfort his grieving father. He was at first confused on why would his father be grieving when he had not heard of a passing of a relative or a close friend. He was even more bewildered that his mother had written at the latter part of the letter, as if she had forgotten, that his father's sister had just died.

His father's sister…

Now, Remus Lupin may be the sole child of Alfred and Marceline Lupin but he was not raised spoilt and selfish, caring about nothing except himself. He was what every father wanted in a boy. He was obedient, patient, kind and mature. He may be a little mischievous, it was of his friend's influence, but this one was only one of the little flaws he had; why he was practically one of the most kindest person in the wizard world and not in the least self-centered. In fact, he rather had this somewhat exasperating trait of always sacrificing himself for the sake of others.

If he was so involved with his family and friends and even with the sake of humanity, how could he have not known that his father had a sister? They must have told him earlier but tried as he might to go through every recess of his brain, he could not really recall. They might not have really told him after all. It must have been a secret. But why? He had pondered over that thought for a while, completely forgetting his breakfast, that his friends remarked that whatever his thought was, it had probably been dissected word per word by now that it would be the simplest concept in the whole universe.

But even now, as he was standing right in front of their modest Victorian house, the question still remained in his mind. The atmosphere which he had detected most accurately, as his senses were always superb due it his being a werewolf, had only heighten his troubled thoughts.

Before he could take a deep and clear his head, the door suddenly burst open and out came Marceline Lupin, his mother and the most talkative of the Lupin household. She was a great conversationalist, quite intelligent and a wonderful mother. She usually had a pleasant smiling face and comforting expression, but at the moment her eyes were swollen with crying and lack of sleep. He instantly walked toward her with long strides and met her with open arms.

"Darling", his mother started, "I am glad you have finally come. Your father is a wreck."

They entered the house, with Remus' arm around his miserable mother's shoulder. His mother turned and helped him with his cloak.

"He stopped eating and have been drinking himself to death!" his mother sobbed at him, finally breaking down. "He doesn't want to talk about it. I would ask him but he would just tell me it was nothing. How could be it nothing when he is in this state! This is getting out of control! I don't know what-"

"Mother", Remus interrupted sternly, grabbing his mother gently though firmly by the shoulders, causing her to be stupefied in surprise "Please this is not the time to cry. Please be calm." His mother was still staring at him. He smiled gently and soothed his mother, snaking an arm around her shoulders again, he said in a soft voice, slightly aware that the approach he was taking was not his own but of one of his best mates, James Potter, "Now, my dear mumsy. Is it true that father has-had a sister?"

His mother smiled at him weakly and replied, her forehead furrowing a little. "Yes, I suppose. It is the only information I was able to nag from him."

Remus nodded, relieved that James' tactics were working on his mother, "Where is father?"

"His at his study."

"Do you think it is alright to visit him right now?", Remus asked, already heading toward the study's door.

"Quite frankly, I don't know what to do!" Her mother muttered and then she looked at Lupin with a tender and heart-warming smile, "But I think it is alright if you go to him now. Both of you are so much alike. You understand each other better."

CLCLCLCL

Alfred Lupin was a great man. He was the epitome of a great English wizard, a sharp mind combined with a great heart. He had strong conviction on his principles and values. He was outstanding in all branches of wizard education specializing in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He might not be a genius or a prodigy but he had mastered his skills as vigorously as he could. He used to be an Auror but he had a terrible accident that left him with a weak and frail back that forced him to resign into a quiet life of a historian of the wizard world. But today it had seemed that he was not Alfred Lupin…

Remus was grateful for his mother's outburst as he had been warned by the real condition of his father. When he caught sight of his father by the desk, he still held a calm exterior but he was shaken inwardly. He had never seen his father at this state. He had known him as calm and collected at the extent of being rigid. As a young boy, he had looked up at his father as an invincible person capable of everything and as a young adult, he had understood that his father was neither a genius nor indestructible but he still admired him as a principled and controlled human being. His mother was absolutely right. His father was a wreck.

He could not see his senior's face as it was buried under his arms, but he could see that his stature had decreased. Remus walked toward the desk silently and cautiously, processing the hellhole their dignified study had turned into. He could see a dozen or so bottles of beer scattered; some near the desk and some at the desk. He winced when he accidentally stepped on some glass chips, making a definite noise that broke the silence of the room. His eyes darted on the pathetic form of his father and were relieved that he had not woken up. He diverted his gaze at the carpeted floor and saw the fragments of glasses were strewn all over the place originating from one part of the shelves, with the books stacked there freshly soaked with, no doubt, alcohol. He must have thrown a bottle there in his rage…

He continued his investigation with his eyes and found that there was a pool of what appeared to be…puke. At the mere site of this, he could already imagine the smell or was it he _could_ already smell it with his heightened senses due to werewolf curse? But either case he could also feel the snack he had eaten earlier fighting their way up. He quickly turned around, his purpose and determination leaving him. He would talk to his father later as soon as the way of handling this situation was be clear to him, he thought while turning the knob of the door. He was about to walk out when-

"Remus, my son. Is that you?"

He froze but immediately turned around, straightening his composure, quickly responding to the silent, unexpressed but undeniable need of his father for company. His company.

He quickly went to his father's side, his mind registering the weak and lost way his father had called him and, at the same time, the strained and sickly pale thin face of his father He gently pushed the bottle out of his way and kneeled on one knee facing his father like a knight vowing his allegiance to his king, promising his complete support and service.

"Yes. It is me, sir."

His father looked at him with disbelief and hope like a lost child, Remus thought sadly, but he could see he was trying to veil his helpless shape. This was not his father but a stranger but…maybe… this man who he truly was? He had always seen his father strong and alive but maybe this was his other side; the vulnerable side his father had always kept for the sake of the family. The fruit of the obligation to be always strong, to be the support, the foundation, the source of strength of the family. And now it had exposed itself in full force, triggered by the death of his sister. But why? Did he so love his sister that he could do nothing but slowly drift into destruction? If this was so then Remus would do anything to help his father. His father had always been there for him then Remus would do the same to him.

"Remus stood up and firmly gripped a comforting hand on his father's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it father?"

Remus had asked in a silent voice, not overly eager or overly sympathetic and this was proven to be the right tone as his father slowly disengaged from Remus and motioned him to go to the chair in front of the desk. Remus immediately complied, his heart feeling elevated. This was what his father had wanted. He knew that his parents loved one another but his mother was too emotional and sometimes even scandalous that she was not a great confidante and help. She would not react properly to whatever she would hear and this would only worsen the situation. His father did not need any nagging or comments. He just needed someone to talk to and Remus was most suitable for the task. They understood each other. Man understood man. Besides, his father was a traditional man, not overly chauvinist, but there was still the ego restraining to show fragility or any weakness to a woman. It would be too embarrassing. Not only humiliating but there would come a day where guilt would build itself inside and constantly be a remainder of breaking down when he was the one who should be strong.

Remus saw his father straightened up and composed himself. He could sense that his father was dreading the coming conversation…or rather monologue, like that of a man who had done a terrible, grievous sin bracing himself on confessing it all to a priest; his conscience attacking his brain, his heart and mind filling with remorse.

His father's voice was clear and without emotion. "I did not tell you about my younger sister, Adeline, because she had forbidden me to. Actually", his father's lips twisted into an ironic smile, "she threatened me not to. She did not want to do anything with the wizard world anymore…"

Remus could see the sudden shift of emotions in his father's eyes. He could see the tiniest hint of a smile on his father's lips, his eyes staring at the far end of the room. He was on his own world now, reminiscing the past, remembering the happiness and sadness he had experienced.

"My cheerful and outgoing, Ada, was my joy and my pride when I was your age. I adored her will all my heart and she adored me in return. Your grandparents were always at work that was why we were rich then. Which was also why I became more than her brother. I became her parent. I would teach her everything I know as a brother should and became a role model as I could…"His father enumerated a lot of things that they would do together and it was becoming very apparent that they were so close to each other. They respected each other. Of course, there was the occasional fights which only an adult could resolve, in their case their parents. But they had been closed to each other. And after seemingly hours of retelling of their beautiful lives. There came the cause of their downfall.

"… a series of very unfortunate events struck our lives that we were left almost knutless. I don't want to tell you the details but it was because of a certain Malfoy that had caused our distress. He wanted Ada but she did not like him nor did we. That certain Malfoy…he had used all his power and influenced to make our lives difficult and hard. Eventually your grandfather who was not really on the bloom of his wealth died due to an illness caused by stress and fatigue…"His father's eyes visibly hardened with past hatred and anger.

"Finally, when she could not take it anymore, she secretly went to Malfoy to _ask_ his forgiveness for rejecting him…but he did not such thing. He _dishonored _her," his father had said the word so menacingly that Remus involuntarily cringed backward to ward off the powerful emanating passion of hatred.

"Of course, she got pregnant. She could not handle the humiliation. She wanted to get away from the wizard society. To forget all of it. I tried to stop her but she could not really take it. She wanted nothing to do with us, even us her family! She was that ashamed. It's a miracle that she did not take her life. I blamed myself for her isolation but I could not do anything about it. She fled. We had no contact from her then on. Until now and now she is dead…" at last, tears had finally streamed down from Alfred Lupin's face since he had first received the news of his sister's death.

CLCLCLCL

Silence reigned the room after Remus Lupin's narration. He had no trouble telling them, James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. They were his best mates after all. They knew each other very well. Knew everything about each other's lives. And he, somehow, owed the truth about his unexpected leave. They had accepted him; every aspect of him even when they found out that he was a werewolf. He owed them that much.

James, running a hand over his messy black hair, broke the silence, a hint of worry seeping through his voice, "So is Mr. Lupin going to be alright?"

Remus shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He had just arrived Hogwarts that morning after a week of leave. He had tried really to stay strong while at home and he had succeeded but the excruciating experience was making him pay the consequences presently. He was exhausted both physically and mentally. His father was improving but only slightly. He knew now how her mum really felt. _Quite frankly, I don't know what to do…_

"Wait a minute!" Sirius exclaimed enthusiastically, his grey eyes twinkling with excitement, another ingenious idea must have entered his brain again. "You said your aunt has two children, right?"

Remus nodded numbly, still worrying of his father's welfare, staring at the glowing fire at the hearth.

"And they were the cause of her depression which eventually turned into suicide, right?" Sirius continued.

"What's your point, Sirius?" The other two was also looking at him, puzzled.

"Well, maybe, if we were able to find them, then take them to your father and make your father do whatever he want to do with them, then he'll feel bet-"

"My God, Sirius!" Remus exclaimed angrily, his usually calm eyes blazing, his stance hard and stiff "this is not a joke! You want my father to commit murder! He is that angry with those two children and one is that Malfoy's bastard. Please, be serious for once!" he finished with an exasperated sighed and resumed his brooding.

Sirius just blinked twice quite surprised by the outburst but not in the least perturbed. "Well, I think it's the only way of healing right? We might even discover new truths" glancing at James, finding an ally on his point of view. Besides, James best knew his thoughts, he could understand him most strikingly than the other two.

James looked at Remus after receiving the look, "What's Sirius is trying to say is that there maybe another side of the story…the reason for the children's departure…"

This caught Remus' attention. He first contemplated on that thought and realized its significance. He immediately apologized, "You're right. Sorry Sirius. There must be another side of this story…"

Peter Pettigrew finally spoke for the first time since Remus' monologue. "When are we going to scout for them then?" he asked eagerly, thinking of it as another escapade.

"School Year's almost over so by SUMMER!" Sirius replied cheerfully. James smiled and turned to punch Remus on the shoulder, grinning "It's going to be solved mate, you'll see!"

Remus was a little annoyed of their excitement but they were the Marauders. They were known for being the loudest and biggest pranksters at Hogwarts. They were always having fun. They would not brood or lost their optimistic view of almost everything. And this was why Remus so much liked the lot. They would not dwell on sad and disheartening thoughts. He then was able to grin when he saw Sirius chatting animatedly with Peter on what they would bring and would do on their trip. Remus prayed solemnly to the Almighty that their childlike happiness would conquer his soul completely and perpetually.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review if you the time.


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